Some fans and analysts were left scratching their heads in regards to one of the Minnesota Vikings draft selections this past Saturday. The moment came in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft when the Vikings rolled the dice on ‘offensive weapon’ Jerick McKinnon with the 96th overall pick. The OW position is still gaining traction in the NFL, but McKinnon is no doubt this year’s Denard Robinson.

The two both played QB in college, and like Robinson, McKinnon will mostly play the role of running back on Sundays.

The knock on McKinnon is that he’s far from polished when it comes to blocking and catching the ball out of the backfield. However, the guy can fly like the wind (4.4/40) and possesses playmaking ability like few do.

Here’s a taste of what he can do with the ball in his hands:

Now clearly, running the football in the NFL is going to be a heck of a lot different than it was at Georgia Southern, but the potential with McKinnon is obvious. Get him the ball in open space, and good things just might happen. You might even call him the Cordarelle Patterson of the Vikings backfield. He’s a raw talent who needs coached up, but man, is his athletic ceiling high.

You can say that the Vikings had no business taking him in the third round, but it’s hard to say McKinnon is a bad selection for the purple and gold. He’s another pick that goes along with the athletic theme the team displayed by selecting Anthony Barr at No. 9. Both guys are green as grass, but with the proper coaching both could develop into reliable, big-time playmakers.

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